Saints' Feast Days – April

• Saint Bernadette Soubirous Virgin April 16^th
• Saint George Martyr April 23^rd
• Saint Mark the Evangelist (Second Gospel) April 25^th
• Saint Catherine of Siena Virgin & Doctor April 29^th
• Saint Pius V, Pope April 30^th
• Good Friday Devotions Chaplet of the Holy Face The “Golden Arrow” Prayer

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Background:

St Bernadette was born at Lourdes, France on 11th February 1858. When she was 14, she had her first vision from the Blessed Virgin Mary. At first, Bernadette kept the visions secret but news soon spread and a further seventeen were recorded. St Bernadette joined the Sisters of Charity in Nevers. From youth, she suffered severe asthma and in later life, she contracted tuberculosis of the bone. She died at the young age of 35. Her Feast Day is 16th April.

Intercessory Prayer:

Dear Saint Bernadette,

You were chosen by Almighty God as a channel of His graces and blessings, and through your humble obedience to the requests of Our Blessed Mother Mary, you gained for us the miraculous waters of Spiritual and physical healing.

We now implore you to listen to our pleading prayers that we may be healed of our Spiritual and physical imperfections. St Bernadette, place our petition in the hands of our Holy Mother Mary, so that she may place them at the feet of her beloved Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and He may look on us with mercy and compassion: (Share your request…)

Pray Saint Bernadette, that like you, we may always be obedient to the will of our Heavenly Father, and that through our prayers and humility we may bring consolation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary who have been so grievously wounded by our sins. Amen.

… Saint Bernadette of Lourdes, Pray for us…

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Background:

St George was born in Palestine. At 14yrs, his father died and a few years later his mother.  St George followed in his father's footsteps and became a soldier. However, when all soldiers were ordered to worship and offer sacrifice to Roman Gods, St George loudly objected. Proudly proclaiming his Christian faith, he was tortured and executed by decapitation. St. George is generally represented as delivering a maiden from a dragon, or slaying one of those animals in combat. This is intended to denote that he valiantly overcame the dragon of hell, which desired to devour the woman represented in the Apocalypse–the Christian Church, the virgin bride of Christ. His Feast Day is 23rd April.

Intercessory Prayer:

Almighty God,

I bow before you seeking your help and mercy. Illuminate the darkness of my mind with a ray of heavenly light and inflame my heart with the fire of Your divine love, so that I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of Saint George in whose honour I make this novena, and following his example imitate, like him, the life of Your Divine Son. Eternal God, I beseech you to graciously grant, through the merits and intercession of St George, this petition which I humbly place before You.

(Share your request…)

Almighty Father, “May Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…

O God, who granted to Saint George the strength to sustain the torments he received for our holy faith; I beseech You to prevent my faith from wavering, so that I may also faithfully serve You with a sincere heart unto death.

I ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…

St George, a faithful servant of God and invincible martyr, you were favoured by God with the gift of faith, and inflamed with an ardent love of Christ. You fought valiantly against pride, falsehood, and deceit. Neither pain nor torture, sword nor death could part you from the love of Christ. I fervently implore you to help me by your intercession to bear bravely the trials and temptations that oppress me, so that I may patiently carry the cross which is placed upon me. Let neither distress nor difficulties separate me from the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Valiant champion of our faith, assist me in the fight against all evil.

Our Father…Hail Mary…Glory be…

… St George, Pray for Us …

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Saint Mark’s Portrait of Jesus:

The four Gospels are neither histories of the life of Christ nor biographies. They are portraits of the person and work of the long-promised Messiah, Israel’s King and the world’s Saviour. As portraits, they present four different poses of one unique personality. The four Gospels narrate, largely, the same things, but with some differences. Only Matthew and Luke tell of the Birth and childhood of Jesus (Matthew 1:14-9:1, Luke 1:5-4:13). Mark by the Holy Spirit presents Christ as Servant. Mark’s special emphasis is the Superhuman power of Jesus, by demonstrating His Deity by His Miracles (Mark 1:14-9:1). He omits most of Jesus’ lectures. and narrates things Jesus did rather than things Jesus said. He seems to have had Gentile readers in mind.

Chaplet Prayers:

On the Medal Pray:

Lord, help me to follow in the footsteps of Saint Mark and to fall in love with You completely, desiring only Your will in my life. Help me to hear Your voice and to be guided by the Holy Spirit to do all that You ask of me. Amen. God, our Father, You helped Saint Mark the Evangelist with Your grace so that he could preach the good news of Christ.  Help us to know You well so that we may faithfully live our lives as followers of Christ. Amen.

Through the prayers of Saint Mark, may the Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us. Amen!

On the First Bead of each set, Pray the Our Father.

On the Second Bead of each set, Pray the Hail Mary.

On the Third Bead of each set, Pray the Glory Be.

On the Crucifix Pray:

Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the Evangelist hast given to Thy Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We thank Thee for this witness and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Background:

Saint Catherine of Siena was a great philosopher and theologian and is considered a Doctor of the Church. At the age of 6, a vision of the Lord came to her and she became very spiritual. She died at the early age of 33 and was canonized in 1461. In 1970, Pope Paul VI granted her the title of Doctor of the Church. Her Feast Day is 29^th April.

#+begine_quote Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire. …

Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear. …

Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring. …

All the way to heaven is heaven, because Jesus said, "I am the way.”

-Catherine of Siena #+end_quote

Intercessory Prayer:

Heavenly Father, your glory is in your saints.
We praise your glory in the life of the admirable
St. Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church.

Her whole life was a noble sacrifice inspired by an ardent love of Jesus,
your unblemished Lamb. In troubled times she strenuously upheld the
rights of His beloved spouse, The Church.

Father, honour her merits and hear her prayers for each of us.
Help us to pass unscathed through the corruption of this world,
and to remain unshakably faithful to the church in word, deed, and
example. Help us always to see in the Vicar of Christ an anchor in the storms of life,
and a beacon of light to the harbour of your Love, in this dark night of
our times and men's souls.

Grant also to each of us our special petition . . .

(State your own intentions)

We ask this through Jesus, your Son, in the bond of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

… St Catherine of Siena, Pray for Us …

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Background:

St Pius V was born near Allesandria in Italy in 1504; he entered the Dominican Order and became Pope in 1566. He put into practice the reforming decrees of the Council of Trent, which ended in 1563: in his name the Catechism, the Breviary, and the Missal were promulgated, and these endured until the recent reform in the 20th century. He encouraged the practice of saying the Rosary. He died in 1572.

You are the salt of the earth! You are the light of the world! See to it that the people are edified by your example, by the purity of your lives, by the moderation of your conduct, and the brilliance of your holiness! God does not ask of you mere ordinary virtue. He demands downright perfection! -Pope Pius V

Intercessory Prayer:

Father,
you chose Saint Pius V as pope of your Church
to protect the faith and give you more fitting worship.

By his prayers, help us celebrate your holy mysteries
with a living faith and an effective love.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God,
forever and ever. Amen.

… St Pius V, Pray for Us …

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Chaplet of the Holy Face – The “Golden Arrow” Prayer

Background:

Prayers of devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus are a special way to honor our Lord and make reparation for all the Blasphemies (insulting or disrespectful thoughts or behavior) He has endured over the centuries since His Passion at Calvary.

It is a devotion that was first heard of through a Carmelite Nun named Sister Mary of St. Peter in France, 1844, who stated Our Lord revealed this devotion to her at Mount Carmel. Sister Mary of St. Peter stated that Our Lord wanted this devotion to be spread throughout the world with the goal of making reparation for the sins which offend God.

The Golden Arrow Prayer:

The Golden Arrow is an important prayer that Jesus gave to Sister Mary of St. Peter. She called it “an Act of Praise that our Lord Himself dictated to me, notwithstanding my unworthiness, for the reparation of Blasphemy [insulting or disrespectful thoughts or behavior] against His Holy Name.”

May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.

HOW TO PRAY THE CHAPLET OF THE HOLY FACE

1. Make the Sign of the Cross and pray:
   “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord make haste to help me. Glory be…”

2. In honor of the sense of TOUCH of Jesus, pray: “My Jesus Mercy,” followed by the Glory be…

3. Pray on the six beads: “Arise, O Lord! and let Thy enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy Face.”

4. In honor of the sense of HEARING of Jesus, pray: “My Jesus Mercy,” followed by the Glory be…

5. Pray on the six beads: “Arise, O Lord! and let Thy enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy Face.”

6. In honor of the sense of SIGHT of Jesus, pray: “My Jesus Mercy,” followed by the Glory be…

7. Pray on the six beads: “Arise, O Lord! and let Thy enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy Face.”

8. In honor of the sense of SMELL of Jesus, pray: “My Jesus Mercy,” followed by the Glory be…

9. Pray on the six beads: “Arise, O Lord! and let Thy enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy Face.”

10. In honor of the sense of TASTE of Jesus, pray: “My Jesus Mercy,” followed by the Glory be…

11. Pray on the six beads: “Arise, O Lord! and let Thy enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy Face.”

12. Pray: “My Jesus Mercy,” followed by the Glory be…

13. Pray on the three beads: “Arise, O Lord! and let Thy enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy Face.”

14. The chaplet is concluded by saying on the Cross: “God, our Protector, look on us and look on the Face of Thy Christ.”

Each six beads are preceded by a single bead, followed by a Glory be to recall the sense we wish to honor. The three other beads mark the three years of the public life of Our Lord, and have for their intention to honor all the wounds of His adorable Face; there are also preceded by a single bead, to be followed by a Glory be for the same intention. The Glory be is recited seven times in honor of the seven last words of Jesus upon the cross, and the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady of Sorrows.